Technological Change in an International Industrial System Technological Change in an International Industrial System

Obs...fel storlek på rygg Leif Linnskog Doctoral Dissertation No. 47 Technological Change in an International Industrial System Technological Technological Change in an International Industrial System Leif Linnskog School of Business Box 883, SE-721 23 Västerås/Eskilstuna, Sweden. 2007 Telephone +46 21-10 13 00, +46 16-15 36 00. e-mail: [email protected] www.mdh.se ! ! ! "! ! #" ! #$# % &' !& ( & ) ' ( %* '' & ( & +( , & ( -) ' & ( )*'& &(( %% ' %* % ' . /01 ,', . 233. 0/04 ( '. *'& 5 6&, 55 1 - 7 ). 6*)*'& . # ' & ( )*'& . 8+ 99/. #:202/ ; < !7- , ( -) ' . 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I was organized in the marketing department of a production unit of the group and my role as a product manager made me frequently involve in customer-orientated technological matters – not the least technological change – in an international business environment. I used to have 80 - 100 working days abroad annually. The professional environment of mine had a strong orientation towards exchange framed by business relationships and this circumstance triggered my curiosity and made me return to the university in the early 1990s for further academic studies at master’s level, an endeavor that was later extended into postgraduate studies. Support from the Avesta Sheffield group management and particularly from the marketing director of the group at that time, Hans-Jacob Waern, but also from the plant manager Lennart Paijkull of Unit Cold Rolled1, made it possible for me to attend postgraduate courses at Uppsala University, Stockholm University (Stockholm Center for Organizational Research), and University of Umeå (Marketing Technology Center) during the latter part of the 1990s. Combining a strictly result-orientated professional life with markedly philosophical considerations typical for university studies was somewhat confusing to me in the beginning, and today I am inclined to confess that my early attempts to write up a thesis suffered from strong prescriptive propensity, a writing style that is usually not particularly successful in academic writing. At a later stage in the process of personal development maybe I got too keen on theory while forgetting about the interesting experiences of mine that I had gained through business practice. Now, in the final phase of writing up a thesis for the doctorate, I hope I have succeeded in striking a reasonable balance between theory and practice. The empirical part of the work is developed based on my own experiences completed with interview data and information gathered by the study of a large number of authentic documents. In early 2006 I was accepted for postgraduate studies at Mälardalen University with Professor Ulf Johanson as main supervisor and Professor Peter Söderbaum as assistant supervisor. Already in the autumn of 2003 I had presented my scattered writing for Peter, who showed an honest interest in it and encouraged me to go on. Also Professor Esbjörn Segelod was kind enough to underpin my further writing. This was actually a turning point in my endeavor for the doctorate. Peter’s interest without I had probably never bothered to go on with the project, and I have really appreciated his support and 1 The business unit in which I was employed. appropriate commenting throughout the writing process. Later Ulf’s competent tutoring has been most helpful for the completion of this thesis work. I have listened to and obeyed most of his insightful comments and proposals. However, it is important to underline that any inconsistencies or flaws occurring in the material are entirely my own responsibility. A few people close to me have followed my struggle through the years. I dedicate my work to my mother Britta, who never got the opportunity to see and read the final version of the thesis, to my wife Margareta, who always supported me and particularly so at times when conditions were tough, and, last but not least, to my children Robert and Linda, who are both most proud of their father’s achievement (and have promised to read the book from the beginning to the last page). Sometimes I have wondered what I would have done had I not written a doctoral thesis as the project has consumed thousands of hours. Maybe I had refurbished our house somewhat more frequently, or I had built a holiday cottage for us, or I had invested in a pleasure-boat. Or maybe I had put all my energy on improving my musical skills. As a matter of fact in connection with my final seminar session in September last year I bought myself a soprano saxophone, and now, when the thesis work has finally been completed, I know perfectly well what I will do …. Eskilstuna in May, 2007. Leif Linnskog ABSTRACT Industrial systems resist change, more often, because heavy production facilities and industrial constructions are expensive and have long economic lives, but also because people tend to defend ingrained conceptions of how things are and how activities ought to be performed. Starting out from the question: “How does technological change come about in an international, industrial system?” the thesis investigates the interplay between technological, social, and economic factors. Empirically the work is located to the steel and metals industries and covers business exchange within and between several economic entities performing international business operations. It is shown that technological change is driven by strategic intention, but that it also occurs as a result of chance or “necessity”, or follows on everyday enterprise operations. In an attempt to realize strategic intentions actors involve in games of negotiation while referring to different power bases. Backed by organizational role (hierarchic level/managerial position), personal “luminosity” (charisma/leadership), or control over critical resources (that other actors are interested in) various arguments are put to the test on “the arena for negotiations and change”. While involving in negotiations actors may relate to existing business and/or social relations for support or they may take advantage of full-blown coalitions. Constrained by the games of negotiation, which unfold in an institutional environment, the process of technological change adopts evidently evolutionary characteristics, and it follows implicitly that the single actor has at its disposal only limited possibilities to determine the process outcome. Technological change as an evolutionary process consists of three underlying sub-processes, viz. innovation, interaction, and institutionalization, it is argued. SAMMANFATTNING Industriella system är vanligtvis trögföränderliga som en följd av att tunga maskin- och anläggningsinvesteringar har lång ekonomisk livslängd, men även på grund av att människor ofta försvarar invanda föreställningar om hur saker och ting är och hur aktiviteter ska eller bör utföras. I avhandlingen studeras samspelet mellan teknologiska, sociala och ekonomiska faktorer utifrån frågeställningen ”Hur kommer teknologisk förändring till stånd i ett internationellt, industriellt system?” Den empiriska miljön är förlagd till stål- och metallindustrin och omfattar affärsutbyte såväl inom som mellan ett flertal ekonomiska enheter i företag med internationell verksamhet. Avhandlingen visar att strategiska avsikter och beslut har en avgörande inverkan på teknologiska förändringar men att sådana förändringar inte sällan även uppstår på grund av tillfälligheter eller ”nödvändigheter” eller som en konsekvens av företags löpande affärsverksamhet. I sin strävan att förverkliga strategiska avsikter refererar olika aktörer till olika maktbaser och deltar därigenom i ett förhandlingsspel där den enskilde aktören inte sällan söker stöd för sin sak i upparbetade affärs- och/eller sociala relationer eller genom att ingå regelrätta koalitioner. I sammanhanget prövas argument som backas upp av organisatorisk roll (hierarkisk position/eventuell chefsbefattning), personlig ”lyskraft” (karisma/ledarskap), eller kontroll över kritiska resurser (som andra är intresserade av). Den teknologiska förändringsprocessen får inom ramen för detta förhandlingsspel, som sker i en institutionell miljö, en tydlig evolutionär karaktär där den enskilde aktören har uppenbart begränsade möjligheter att bestämma utfallet, och denna evolutionära process visas bestå av tre underliggande delprocesser, nämligen innovation, interaktion och

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